Dreams of Tomorrow
by The Hooded Author
Summary: Every person has a story, and every story has a beginning. This series of one-shots will explore the lives of various trainers, right at the beginning of their journeys.


**'Sup guys, Hooded Author here with a brand new series of stories for you. As said in the summary, this'll be a series of one-shots based on the characters of one of my other stories, The Abandoned Region. Since these are all prequels, it's not necessary to have read that story to understand these ones, but if you enjoy this I'd appreciate you checking it out. And, as always, reviews and criticism are welcomed. Now, shall we begin?**

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Chapter One - Make Them Laugh

Three o'clock in the afternoon. That was when school finished. That was when Gavin West was finally free.

He ran out of the building as fast as he could, racing towards the main gate. Although he was tall for his age, he wasn't as athletic as his some of his classmates, and by the time he reached the gate there were already a handful of other kids waiting for him.

"What do you want, Gavin," one of them said, a strapping young boy by the name of Charlie. "You got another joke for us?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Gavin said, folding his arms smugly. "And this one's a real killer."

Charlie's friends all groaned, but he just smirked. "Come on guys, we might as well hear him out. Who knows, maybe this one will actually be funny."

"Unlikely," Sarah said, just loud enough for Gavin to hear. She was a pretty girl, her smooth blonde hair and her delicate skin placing her firmly in the popular crowd. She'd never been his type, though, and rumour had it that she was dating Charlie anyway.

"Trust me, you'll love this one," he said confidently. He cleared his throat, preparing himself for what was sure to be it, the moment that they finally fell in love with him and accepted him as one of their own. "What did the roggenrola say at the start of the concert?"

"I don't know," Sarah said with a sarcastic smile. She thought he wouldn't notice, but he did. Not that it mattered. That would all change as soon as he delivered the punch-line.

 _Pause,_ he told himself. He'd seen a thousand comedians do it on TV. He had this. _Wait for dramatic effect, give them a second, and..._ "Let's rock!"

He stood with his mouth open, waiting for their laughter. Nothing came. "Let's _rock_!" he said again. Still nothing.

"Well, we gave him a shot," Charlie said. "You guys want to come round to mine? My mum just bought me a bundle of new games."

The group headed off. Gavin made to follow, but Sarah turned around and looked at him with confusion. "Where do you think you're going, Kid?"

"To Charlie's house?"

She shook her head. "You're joke fell flat. Maybe if you make us laugh, we'll let you hang out with us. Until then, bye-bye."

"Bye," he said as she hurried off after her friends. He turned around in the other direction, making for Pinwheel Forest.

He just didn't get it. He'd recited that joke in his head all day. It had made _him_ laugh. He'd nearly been sent out the class for it. So why couldn't he get them to understand his sense of humour? It didn't make any sense.

 _Ah well,_ he thought to himself. He'd just have to try harder next time. One of these days, they'd laugh. Maybe he just needed to find something more relevant to their interests. They all seemed to like video games. Yeah, some jokes about video games would do the trick. He just had to persuade his mum to buy him some first.

That wasn't going to be easy, though. He knew exactly what she'd say. _"Gavin, I don't want you to change yourself for these kids. You be you and if they don't like that, then forget about them_." His dad would say something similar, only he'd put it a bit more... colourfully. They didn't get it either. He had school, he had pokémon, he had the forest, but he didn't have any friends. Just once, he'd like to see them laugh.

Just once, he'd like to know that he was worth something to somebody.

He was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realise he'd reached the forest. It was a dangerous place, as his mum liked to remind him, full of poisonous insects and the like. He was prepared though. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and rummaged through it, pushing all the notepads and textbooks to one side. Finally, he pulled out a single pokéball, one that his mother had lent to him every morning for the past two months.

"Come on out!" he yelled, the perfect imitation of a trainer he had seen on TV that very morning. Or rather, it would have been, but the ball slipped from his hand before he had the chance to throw it. It landed on the grass with a damp thud and a click, then swung open and released the creature inside.

The vulpix stretched herself out and shook her head, spitting out tiny spurts of fire as she did so. "Hey, careful," Gavin said as he hastily picked up the ball. "We don't want to start a fire. Come here."

He pulled the pokémon into his arms. She tried to squirm free at first, but he petted her head and she quickly calmed down. "That's a good girl," he whispered. "Now, come on, I've got loads planned for today."

The two of them headed deeper into the forest, only stopping when he came to his favourite clearing. It was, by all accounts, perfect. The sun shone through the tree leaves, the little droplets of rain glistening like precious jewels. Equally, though, the trees provided shade, relieving cover from the warmth. He loved it there, sometimes more than he did his own home. He only wished he had another person to enjoy it with.

"You'll do for now, though," he said, "won't you, Vulpix?"

The pokémon let out a happy squeal. He placed her gently on the ground and let her run into the clearing. She ran around in circles for a bit, chasing her own tails. He smiled at the sight of it. Maybe he didn't need friends, so long as he had pokémon like her.

He reached back into his bag and pulled out another ball, this one soft and squishy, not the kind for catching pokémon but for playing catch with. "Hey, Vulpix!" he called. "Go fetch!"

He threw the ball with all his might. Unfortunately, being an unathletic eight-year-old kid, he didn't have much might, and so the ball flew right at Vulpix and bopped her right on the nose. She looked at it with confusion, but she clearly wasn't hurt.

"Sorry," he said with a giggle. "Bring it back here and I'll try again."

They stayed out there for hours, far longer than they should have. Once they got bored of playing catch, he produced a hair brush and a bottle of moose that had once belonged to his mum, back in her contest days. As he sprayed it onto the pokémon and brushed at her silky fur, it occurred to him that mum was probably waiting for him. The thought really should have made him hurry back, but he was having far too much fun to care.

Vulpix sat there, perfectly calm as he tended to her. Other pokémon might have tried to put up a fuss - he knew that from experience - but not her. She had, after all, once belonged to his mum. As he understood it, the two of them had taken part in a couple of contests together, just before his mother had quit. It was part of the reason she let him borrow her. His father had wanted to give him a fighter, something that could protect him, but his mother knew what he really wanted.

Besides, it wasn't like the pokémon in the forest were particularly strong. Even a contest-bred pokémon like Vulpix could take them on, especially since most of them were weak to fire types. He hadn't encountered a single thing in that forest that could threaten them.

Which is why it came as such a surprise when Vulpix sprang to her feet and let out a low snarl. Her teeth were bared, her fur standing on end. He'd never seen her like that. She looked like a wild animal.

"What is it, Girl?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

She didn't budge. He followed her line of sight across the clearing to a large bush that seemed to be... moving? That couldn't be good. He held onto Vulpix, ready to make a break for it if he had to. Hopefully it was just a venipede or a patrat, caught up in the bramble.

It wasn't.

The creatures burst out of the bush in an instant, and suddenly Gavin was too scared to move. He'd seen plenty of powerful pokémon on TV, but these were different. They were vicious, wild, dangerous.

One was shaped like a large cat, or a tiger. Its slender body glistened and its muscular legs looked ready to pounce at any moment. It took him a minute, but he identified it as a liepard. He'd seen a couple of travelling trainers with similar pokémon, but never one like that. This one just oozed with power and speed.

And yet, it was still the less frightening of the two. The other one was huge, every inch of it bulging with muscle. Its jaws were massive, big enough to swallow Vulpix in a single gulp. He didn't know what it was, but its beady little eyes were staring at him with menace.

One thing was clear; he had to get out of there.

He grabbed Vulpix into his arms, spun around and ran. The brush and the spray tumbled from his grip and fell to the ground, but he didn't have time to stop. He kept running, right out of the clearing and back into the forest. He thought he could hear footsteps behind him, but it might just have been his heart pounding in his ears.

He hurried down the path, desperate to make it back home, and suddenly his foot hit something and he stumbled, and before he knew what was happening he was face-down in the muddy grass.

"Uh, what are you doing?" The voice was quiet, and female, and he had a feeling that he knew it from somewhere. He pushed himself up off the ground to get a better look at her.

Her name was Amber; he recognised her from her class, though they'd never talked. She didn't really talk to anyone. She just sat alone in the playground, her face buried in some heavy book. She had that same book with her now, tucked under her arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked, brushing a strand of dark red hair out of her eyes.

"You have to get out of here," he said, the sense of urgency suddenly returning to him. "They're coming."

"Who are you-?"

She didn't get to finish her question before it was answered for her. The two pokémon came bounding out of the trees, heading straight towards them. Amber stared at them, her entire body shaking.

"Run!" Gavin yelled. Still, the girl didn't move.

With a groan of defeat, he grabbed her arm and tugged, dragging her up the path. She started to move then, running alongside him. If they could just make it out the forest, everything would be alright.

But that was easier said than done, for as they made to turn down the path out, the liepard leaped right over their heads and landed in front of them, spit flying from its lips as it let out a low hiss.

"This way!" Amber said, taking the lead. She pulled him up and away from the exit. He knew the forest like the back of his hand, and so he knew they were heading straight for another dead end, but he ran with her anyway. What choice did he have?

They came to another clearing, this one much the same as the first, only there was a large oak tree sitting firmly in the middle. The two pokémon were right behind them. The clearing was closed off by trees and bushes. Gavin saw only one option.

"How good are you at climbing?" he asked, not waiting for an answer to pull her towards the tree.

"I don't know," she said, fear finally taking over her voice.

"Well this is our only choice. I'll go first and help you up, okay?"

She nodded, but she didn't look at all sure of herself.

He pushed the vulpix onto the first branch, encouraging her to go higher. He didn't like pushing her away like that, but he couldn't climb with his arms full. Once she had dashed up into the tree, he followed after her. He grabbed onto the first branch and, using the trunk's natural foot-holds, hoisted himself up onto it. It was a thick, sturdy branch, and it more than supported his weight. He just hoped the higher ones could do the same.

"Now your turn," he said, turning to the girl below. He offered her both hands, but she didn't move. The liepard was hurdling across the clearing towards her, the other pokémon not far behind. "Come on, you have to do this."

"I- I don't think I can..."

"You have to!"

She folded in on herself, wrapping her arms around her waist. Her eyes were quivering. Was she about to cry? Perhaps he'd been a bit too harsh on her. But if she didn't climb, she was done for. The pokémon had slowed down now, the liepard prancing towards her as it licked its lips. They were toying with her, playing with their prey. "Please," he said, softer this time, "I need you to do this."

She looked up at him, studying his face with those big eyes. "Okay," she said eventually. "Okay, I'll trust you." She grabbed his arms and he pulled, struggling to hoist her up towards him. It wasn't easy, and her foot slipped from the trunk a couple of times, but after a great deal of effort she was sitting on the branch next to him. She was shaking like a leaf, but she'd made it.

"We're not high enough yet," he said, "so we're going to have to get to that next branch. Are you okay with that?"

She nodded, but her face was pale and she looked seconds away from throwing up. It wasn't like they were that high. A fall from there would barely hurt, if it weren't for the hungry-looking pokémon below. She must have had a pretty severe fear of heights.

Gavin took the first step, stretching himself up towards the higher branch. Once had a firm grasp of it, he put his feet against the trunk and climbed up onto the branch. Vulpix was already sitting there, waiting for him. The branch was even thicker than the first, and it was high enough that even the larger pokémon wouldn't be able to reach them. The perfect hiding spot.

He turned back and offered Amber his hands once more. "Come on," he said, "I won't let you fall. Trust me."

This time she barely hesitated at all before taking his hands in hers. Together, they pulled her up onto the branch and, in no time, they were both sitting in perfect safety. Or so Gavin thought.

"So tell me," Amber said, her voice not quite as shaky as it had been before, "how exactly are we going to stop that." She pointed down to the lower branch where the liepard was now perched, ready to pounce up towards them.

"Ah," Gavin said. He'd forgot - cats could climb. "I have no idea."

Amber rolled her eyes. "Boys," she mumbled. She reached under her jumper and pulled out that heavy book. She held it over the liepard, squeezed her eyes shut, and let go.

There was an almighty thud as the book hit the pokémon square on the head, followed by a pained squeal. Gavin watched as the liepard struggled to keep its footing, only for it to slide off of the branch. It managed to dig its claws in to keep itself from falling, but then there was a loud snap, and both the branch and the pokémon tumbled to the ground.

The liepard climbed to its feet quickly, but there was no way for it to get back up. It circled the tree, trying to find some other way, but it was hopeless. The other pokémon just stood under their branch, looking at them with a scowl. They were safe, for now.

"Well, that could've been worse," Gavin said, forcing a smile.

"We're stuck half-way up a tree, there are two wild pokémon just waiting to attack us, and you made me throw away my favourite book," Amber said. " _How_ could that have gone any worse."

"We could have been eaten."

Amber let out a harrowing sigh, but she didn't argue back. She sat down awkwardly, leaning against the trunk and pulling her legs up into her chest. She was still shaking, but she didn't look quite so terrified anymore.

Gavin sat himself down as well, letting his legs dangle over the branch. Vulpix perched herself next to him, looking up at him with expectation in her eyes. He petted her on the head, but he didn't pay much attention to her. He was too focussed on the pokémon below him, snapping their teeth at his feet.

"What did you even do to make them that angry?" Amber asked.

"Nothing," he said. "They just jumped out of the bushes and started chasing me."

"That's... weird."

"Is it?"

She nodded. "That one there's a liepard, right? I've heard they're usually pretty docile. Sure, some of them are known for being trouble-makers, but I've never heard of one attacking anyone before. And I'm pretty sure that big red one's a krookodile. They can be a bit more vicious, but I don't know what it's doing all the way out here. They usually stick to the desert areas, not forests."

"Wow," Gavin said, "you really know your stuff. Do you have any idea how to beat them?"

"Maybe I would," she said, "if I still had my book. It's full of pokémon facts. But thanks to someone, it's sitting at the bottom of this tree."

"Hey, I never asked you to throw it."

"No, but you did ask me to climb up here," she pointed out. "And if I hadn't thrown it, we'd both be dead. You're welcome, by the way."

"You know, we'd also be dead if I hadn't told you to climb the tree. So _you're_ welcome, actually."

"Well I'm not the idiot who annoyed two wild pokemon."

"I told you, I didn't annoy them! They just started chasing me for no reason!"

She scoffed. "So you say."

"You know," he snapped, "I'm beginning to get why nobody talks to you."

Her eyes widened with shock. They did that quivering thing again, as if she was about to burst into tears, but she buried her face into her lap before she could.

"Sorry," he said quietly. He meant it, too. Mostly, anyway. He was right, though. It was no wonder she sat alone in the playground. They were both in serious danger and all she wanted to do was blame him for it. The quicker he could get out of that tree, the better.

He wondered how quickly those pokémon would defeat Vulpix. Would it be over in seconds, or would she put up enough of a fight for him and Amber to run and get help?

 _No,_ he told himself, shaking the thought out of his head. He couldn't put the pokémon in that kind of danger. The mere idea of her getting hurt was enough to send a chill up his spine. They'd just have to find some other way.

"You wouldn't happen to have any pokéballs on you, would you?" he asked.

Amber shook her head, still not lifting it from her lap.

He'd figured as much. It was a stupid question, really. You needed a licence to catch pokémon, and you couldn't get one of those until you were ten. But if they'd had a couple of pokéballs, he wouldn't have minded breaking the law right there and then.

"Ah well," he said, mostly just to fill the silence. "It was a stupid idea anyway. We've got Vulpix though, so at least we're not totally defenceless."

"Isn't she a contest pokémon though?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said, surprised. "How did you..."

"It's obvious, really." Finally, she lifted her head and brushed away the tears. "Her coat's too clean for her to have been in many battles, her tail is bushier than the average vulpix, and I don't think you'd have bothered putting so much moose on a pokémon you were intending to fight with."

"Wow, you really know your stuff," he said. "Where did you learn all that?"

She shrugged. "Books."

"Huh." He was impressed, but he couldn't think of anything more to say, so he just let the conversation trail off.

That did mean another long stretch of silence, although it wasn't quite as painful as the last, if only because Amber didn't seem quite so upset anymore. Still, he'd have done anything just to be back in his bed.

It was getting late. The sky was fading to orange, which Gavin might have found beautiful if it didn't make him so worried. What were his parents thinking? Surely they were worried too. How long until they came looking for him? Surely a couple of wild pokémon wouldn't pose much of a threat to them.

He wished he'd brought a coat, or at least a jumper. It was so warm earlier, he hadn't dressed for a cool autumn evening. He kept petting Vulpix, her fur heating up his hands a little. If only she could have lit a fire without burning down the whole tree.

But however cold he felt, Amber must have been feeling it worse. They were both wearing the same school-shirts, but she was also wearing a skirt, and he could see her legs shivering in the breeze. Her arms were crossed over her waist in a vain attempt to keep her warm, but it was obvious it wasn't working.

Without a second thought, he picked up Vulpix and handed the pokémon to her. "Here," he said, "take her. Her fur will heat you up."

"I'm g-g-good," she said, her chattering teeth giving up her lie.

"Please," he said, pushing the pokémon closer towards her. The vulpix was squirming now, trying to get free, but he persisted. "Calm down, Girl, Amber won't hurt you."

Amber hesitated a little more, but eventually she reached up and snatched Vulpix out of his hands. Vulpix apparently didn't like that, because she started to wriggle around more in Amber's grip, and the girl struggled to keep a tight hold on her. Suddenly a paw was on the girl's face, and she yelped as her foot slipped off of the branch.

"Pet the back of her head," Gavin said. A part of him was worried that Amber was actually going to fall, but the other part of him was struggling not to laugh at the ball of fluff that was currently smothering her. "She likes that."

He wasn't sure at first if Amber had heard him, but then she did as he said and the pokémon calmed down immediately. She relaxed, curling up in the girl's arms. Amber breathed a sigh of relief as she regained her balance.

"Thanks," she said. "She really is very warm."

Gavin smiled. "You're welcome." He still didn't think much of the girl - anyone that antisocial wasn't someone he wanted to be friends with - but if she managed to earn Vulpix's trust that easily, she couldn't have been all bad. Which was a good thing because, judging by the way those two pokémon were still circling the tree, they were going to be stuck up there for a while.

"You know," Amber said, "you're not all that bad a guy."

"Uh, thanks?" If that was her attempt at a compliment, it wasn't a very good one.

"I mean, for someone who keeps latching onto Charlie and his group, you're actually kind of nice."

He really didn't get the connection between those two. Was she implying something about Charlie? If she was, he had no idea what it was. Charlie was a perfectly normal kid. Funny, too. Gavin could recall countless times where he'd overheard something Charlie had said and had nearly died from laughter. So what was Amber's problem with him?

"Charlie's a good guy too," he said. "Just because you've never taken the chance to talk to him-"

"He's a bully," she interjected.

"No he's not!" he snapped. What on earth was she talking about? "He's my friend."

"Really? Has he ever actually let you hang out with him?"

He didn't have a response to that. Not once had Charlie actually invited Gavin into his group. But so what? Maybe they weren't close, but that didn't make him a bully.

Did it?

He tried to remember any instance, any at all, where Charlie had done something that could be called bullying. Only one came to mind.

It had to have been about a year ago. They'd been eating in the lunch-hall, Gavin, as usual, sitting on a chair at the edge of the table that he himself had pulled up. And Amber was there too, alone at the next table over. He didn't remember how the conversation had gotten onto her, but it had.

"God, she really is such a weirdo," Sarah had said under her breath, just loud enough for the group to hear. "You'd think she would have made a friend by now."

"It's because she's a nerd," one of the other boys said casually, as if he was stating a simple fact. "I heard she got 95% on that last test. Maybe if she spent less time reading and more time actually talking to people, she'd actually be fun to hang out with."

"Oh come on," Charlie said. "She isn't all that bad." That had earned him a few scowls, not least of all from Sarah. "I mean, every class has to have one, right? Besides, she makes the rest of us look better. Gotta thank her for that at least."

The rest of the group nodded approving and, as ashamed as he was to admit it, Gavin did too.

"Here, watch this," Charlie had then said. He finished off the last bites of his sandwich, crumpled up the plastic bag it had come in, and held it up over his head. Gavin could see bits of jam and bread still dripping off it. "Hey, Sky!"

Amber jumped a little at the sound of her name, but she didn't turn around. Apparently she knew better than that.

"Catch!" Charlie shouted, throwing the bag right at her. It hit her on the back of the head with a wet splat, but she still didn't turn around.

Sarah leaned back, so far that the edge of her seat was touching the table behind her. "What you reading there?" she asked, leaning over to the girl. Amber tried to pull away, but Sarah was too quick for her, and in an instant she had snatched the book right out of her hands.

"The history of the Unova region," Sarah read with mock interest. "Sounds boring _and_ nerdy. I guess I can see why _you_ like it so much."

"Give it back," Amber said, her voice a low growl.

Sarah laughed. "Or what?"

From where he was sitting, Gavin had a slightly better view of the girl than the others, and he could see her balling her hands up into tight little balls. "Give it back," she said again.

"But Charlie was just saying that he needed help with his history homework," Sarah said. "You wouldn't want him to fail now, would you?"

"Throw it over, Sarah," Charlie said, holding his hands up in preparation.

Amber dived for the book as it sore through the air, but she was too slow. Charlie jumped a little and grabbed it in both hands, letting out a victorious yell as he did so. The others applauded, and Gavin followed suit, although his was a quieter and more nervous clap.

"Wow, this will be a big help," Charlie said, admiring the book. "Thanks, Sky." With that, he dumped it into his backpack and sat down to the thunderous laughter of his friends.

Amber looked around the group, tears forming in her eyes as she searched for somebody who could help her. Gavin gave her a small smile, but he didn't say anything.

"Please... give it back," she said, but no one else seemed to hear her.

Gavin looked to Charlie. He was already talking to Sarah about something else entirely. There wasn't any hope of him returning that book any time soon. By the time Gavin turned to Amber to give her an apologetic shrug, she had already ran out of the lunch-hall.

The incident hadn't sat well with him that night, but he'd quickly forgotten all about it. He'd had more important things on his mind, like how to become an actual member of Charlie's group. He didn't have time to worry about the quiet red-head who sat alone at the back of the class.

That is to say, until then, as they sat together in the tree.

"Sorry," he said. "I should have stuck up for you."

"When?" she asked.

"When he stole your book," he said. Wasn't that what she'd been talking about?

"Oh, _that_ ," she said. "Yeah, you should've. But it's not like it was the first time he'd done something like that."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I told you, he's a bully. I'd have thought you'd have realised that by now. It's not like he's any nicer to you."

Gavin searched his mind, trying to think of something else to say. He had nothing. All that was there was guilt and confusion. Was Charlie really that bad? How had he never noticed?

"I'm sorry," he said again, although he knew it wouldn't make anything better. He found that it rarely did.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't blame you or anything."

He could tell by her voice that that wasn't entirely true, but he appreciated it anyway. "Thanks."

The two of them sat in silence some more. It was really beginning to get late. Weren't his parents worried about him? Even Vulpix, usually so active, had drifted off to sleep, Amber still softly petting her head. Gavin could feel his own eyes grow heavy, but he knew he had to stay awake. There wasn't enough room to lie down on the branch. If he fell asleep now, it would mean falling backwards onto the ground.

Still, he couldn't help but close his eyes and pretend that he was back in his cosy, warm bed...

"Gavin," Amber said urgently, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes to see her staring at the ground, an intense fear plastered on her face. It might have alarmed him, but he was too tired to fully register it.

"Look." She pointed down towards the path, the very one that they had ran up not that long ago.

There were people walking towards them. Two of them. A man and a woman, by the look of it. It would have been a relieving sight, if it wasn't for what they were wearing, because both of them were dressed in the bizarre, grey uniforms of Team Plasma.

"Crap," Gavin muttered under his breath. He didn't like swearing, but this felt like an appropriate time. He'd seen Team Plasma on the news, and they were not the kind of people you wanted to mess with. Certainly, they were not the kind of people that you wanted to see walking towards you when you were stuck halfway up a tree with only a sleeping Vulpix to defend you.

They walked up to the pokémon at the foot of the tree, both surprisingly casual for people approaching two vicious creatures.

"Well, well, well," the man said, his voice rough and dry. "So this is where you two ran off to." The liepard nuzzled into his leg and purred softly. He laughed as he rubbed the back of its head. "Alright, alright, I get it, you missed me."

The woman folded her arms. Even from a distance, Gavin could tell that she wasn't pleased. "I thought we told them to hunt down trainers. I don't know about you, Jack, but I don't see any trainers around here."

"Hey, I'm sure they did their best," he said. "Besides, we worked them hard all day yesterday. Don't they deserve a break?"

She scoffed, then turned to the krookodile. "You there!" she said. The huge pokémon stood still, sudden fear in its eyes. "Explain yourself."

Slowly, it lifted an arm up towards the tree. Gavin froze. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. They were done for.

"Ah, there you go," the man said, looking directly at the two children. "They weren't slacking off after all."

"Do those look like trainers to you, Jack?" the woman asked. "They're kids. You two, get down here now."

Gavin made to climb down, but Amber stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Look, if we don't go down, they're going to come up," he said. "We'd better just do as they say for now. Maybe they'll let us go."

It didn't look like she agreed with him, but she didn't argue back either. She gently placed the vulpix onto the branch and followed him down. She was still a little shaky, but she managed her way to the ground without any help from him, and soon they were both standing face to face with Team Plasma.

"Yeah, think I'm going to have to agree with Steph on this, guys," the man said, removing his hand from the liepard's neck. "These kids are far too young to be trainers."

"I guess we should let them go," the woman said somewhat reluctantly. "Who knows, maybe we'll have better luck in town."

Gavin couldn't believe their luck. Team Plasma weren't exactly known for their forgiving nature. Were they really just going to let them leave? He didn't understand, but he also wasn't going to complain.

Amber was already heading up the path, unsurprisingly eager to go. He couldn't follow her just yet, though. First, he turned to the tree, held out his hands and let Vulpix hop into his arms. With a relieved smile, he turned around to leave and was greeted by the stunned faces of Team Plasma.

"He has a pokémon," the woman said.

The man's shock quickly faded into a grin. "What did I tell you. Would it kill you to have a little faith in our team-mates?"

Gavin made to continue, but Amber was standing in his path. For whatever reason, she had stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't until he was standing next to her that he realised why. Right in front of them were the two pokémon, eyeing them up the way a hunter looks at its prey.

"Kid, hand over that pokémon and we won't have any trouble," the man said.

"Wh-what?" Gavin asked.

"Come on, don't make this any harder than it has to be," he said. "Just give me the vulpix and you can go."

"I-I don't..."

"Oh for God's sake," the woman said. "Look, we're Team Plasma. We're here to liberate pokémon from cruel trainers like yourself. Now hand it over."

"We're not trainers," Amber said, her voice surprisingly steady. "We're only eight."

"Be that as it may," the woman said through gritted teeth, "vulpix aren't found around these parts, which must mean that it belongs to one of you. Ergo, we're here to liberate it from you."

"But... but she's my mum's..." Gavin managed to say.

The woman groaned, and the man stepped in. "Is she now?" he asked, his voice filled with a sickening level of sweetness. "Well then that makes your mummy the trainer, and that means it's her we're liberating this poor pokémon from. Understand?"

"N-no." What was he talking about? Gavin knew that Team Plasma liked to steal pokémon from trainers, but this didn't make any sense. All the reports of other terrorist organisations said that they only stole powerful pokémon, ones that could help advance their causes. Why would Team Plasma be any different?

Amber leaned in closer and answered his question for him in a hushed whisper. "They think trainers are evil," she said. "They believe that training pokémon is the same as abusing them, which means they're not going to let us go unless you give them your vulpix."

"But... but I don't want to," he said. "I can't do that."

Amber smiled. It was a reassuring smile, one that actually filled him with some confidence. "Of course you can't. Don't worry, I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"They only care about you and your vulpix, right? So, on my signal, run, and don't worry about me."

He didn't understand what she was getting at, but he figured that he was about to. She stepped up to the two pokémon in front of them and reached into her back pocket. The thing she pulled out seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, like some kind of gemstone. It was round, and almost completely smooth, and suddenly he knew exactly what her plan was.

The thing in her hand was a pearl. They were expensive and shiny, and so they were among the most popular gifts for young girls. They also happened to be very hard, and if one was to hit, say, an adult man on the head, it'd probably hurt a lot and would serve as a pretty good way of distracting him. It wouldn't be a bad way of escaping, if you were dealing with a single adult man. As it stood, the resulting confusion would maybe be enough for Gavin to run by the man and escape, but it would also make Amber their primary target and there wasn't a chance in hell of her fleeing. All in all, it wasn't a great plan.

But then he felt the tiny vulpix in his arms, the poor thing shivering with fear. He could just about hear her heart beating loudly in her chest. Or maybe that was his own? Either way, if he could save her, didn't he owe it to her to at least try?

Amber was pulling the pearl up behind her now, ready to toss it at the man. He had a sudden flashback to that day, the way Charlie had thrown that bag and the way Sarah had thrown her book. Amber was right, those two were bullies, and he should have stood up to them. And now, here he was, face-to-face with Team Plasma. He didn't care if they were terrorists. To him, they were nothing but more bullies, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"Hey, guys," he said, pushing Amber out of the way, "can't you hear me out first?"

"What are you doing?" Amber whispered from behind him.

"No idea," he admitted, forcing her his best smile. "But I have to at least try this."

"What is it, Kid?" the woman asked. It was clear her patience was running out. Gavin doubted he could hold her attention for long, but he didn't see any other options.

"I just... I just wanted to show you that... that not all trainers are bad!"

The two Plasma members looked at each other with confusion, then both burst into laughter. "Oh please," the man said, "do go on."

"I, er, I mean..." he stuttered, looking for the right words. "Erm, me and my mum have treated this vulpix well, and... and if you look at her you'll, uh, see that she hasn't been hurt once. She hasn't even been in a proper battle."

"Be that as it may," the woman said, "we don't have time to properly evaluate every pokémon we come across. Too many are suffering, and we can't let some stay prisoner just because their trainers are good at covering up their injuries. In other words, Kid, hand over that vulpix and maybe I won't have Krookodile here bite you in half. Sound good?"

"Uhh..." It was official; he was out of things to say. Even if he had any arguments left, he wasn't sure he was brave enough to make them.

"No," Amber said, stepping beside him. "No, it does _not_ sound good. If trainers are so bad, then how come you're okay with having yours fight us?"

The man barked a cruel laugh. "Because, Kid, you can't change the rules without playing the game yourself. Besides, Lord N hand-picked us. We can be trusted to take care of our pokémon. Nobody else can. Liepard, I think it's time we-"

"But you can't be trusted!" Gavin yelled. "Can't you see how scared that krookodile is? If you treat them so well, how come it's afraid of you!"

"Alright, I've heard enough," the woman said. "Krookodile, would you _kindly_ remove that vulpix from her trainer."

"No," Gavin said, stepping back from the approaching pokémon. There was menace in its eyes, and bared every single one of its sharp, white teeth. "No..." Even Amber threw her hands up in the air in defeat. He turned to her, wishing he could say something smart or encouraging, but he had nothing.

And then he saw it.

It was her face. She wasn't scared, or on the verge of tears, or anything like that. Instead, her eyes were cold and narrow, and her lips were pursed into a tight smile. It was the face of someone who hadn't given up. "Wait!" she shouted. "We give up!"

"You what now?" the woman asked. "Krookodile, hold up a minute. This is a new one." The pokémon stopped in its tracks, just a few inches away from the children. Gavin could practically feel its breath on his face.

"Amber, what're you doing?" he whispered.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

He had to think about it, but in the end he supposed he did. If anything, it should've been him asking her that question. She had never wronged him the way he had her. "Yeah, I do."

"Then follow my lead." She held her hands up higher and repeated to the adults, "We surrender. You were right all along. We are just two no-good trainers."

He had no idea what she was talking about, but he had agreed to follow along, and so he didn't speak out in protest. Besides, her words were the only things stopping them from being mauled by that giant pokémon.

"Don't be absurd," the man said. "You're no-good, maybe, but you're not trainers. Kids your age aren't allowed to catch pokémon."

"Do you think that matters to us?" Amber asked. "Trainers don't have a morale code, after all. We just do what we want, even if we don't have a license."

"Well, glad that's settled," the woman said. "Krookodile, feel free to hurt them a bit while you take their pokémon."

"But that's the thing," Amber said. "This isn't our pokémon. We found it, and we trained it, and now its so scared of us that it will do whatever we say. See?" She gestured towards the trembling vulpix in Gavin's arms.

He was beginning to see what she was getting at now, so he didn't point out that she was actually terrified of the two adults threatening to steal her away. Instead, he forced his biggest smile and said, "Yeah, she'll obey all our orders, just as a good pokémon should. Isn't that right, Vulpix." Apparently the pokémon understood enough about the situation to play along as well, because she let out a frightened little yelp.

"And what's your point?" the man asked. "Do you just want us to kill you or something?"

"The point," Amber said, "is that if we wanted, we could have this vulpix here burn down the entire forest."

The adults stood back in shock, and Gavin had to suppress a giggle. So that's what she was doing. It all made sense now. Maybe they actually stood a chance of escape after all.

"Krookodile, back off," the woman said.

"You too, Liepard."

The pokémon must have sensed the fear in their trainers' voices, because they immediately returned to their sides.

"Put them in their balls," Gavin said, holding up Vulpix like a weapon. "Or I'll have her set fire to those bushes over there."

"You'd probably manage to get out in time," Amber pointed out, "but I wonder how many pokémon you'd be able to save first?"

"Okay, okay," the woman said, "we'll put them away. Just don't do anything crazy."

The two trainers recalled their pokémon and reattached the balls to their belts. "Are you happy now?" the man asked.

"Not yet," Gavin said. "You two need to leave now. Go to the... Sky Arrow Bridge and... and don't come back!" He glanced at Amber for her approval, but she didn't look at him. He could have sworn that he saw her eyes roll, though.

"Okay, okay," the woman said. "We're going. Just put the vulpix down." Then she leaned in towards her partner and said, in a whisper that she probably didn't realise they could hear, "Jack, call for back-up. Tell them the situation here's worse than we thought."

And so, the Team Plasma members slowly backed out of the clearing, both stricken with fear of two eight year old kids and a contest-bred vulpix.

Once they were out of sight, Gavin finally put Vulpix down and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Holy crap," he said, "we actually did it. Woah!" He just about fell to the ground as something wrapped itself around him.

"That was amazing!" Amber said, hugging him so tight that he could barely breathe. "We beat Team Plasma! Do you know what this means?"

Gavin shook his head. He'd have answered her properly, but his lungs were currently being crushed.

"We're going to be heroes! Kids in school will be talking about us for years! Thank you." She relaxed her grip, leaned in close and gave him a short, sweet kiss on the cheek.

"N-no problem," Gavin said, trying his best not to blush. "But I couldn't have done it without you. That was an awesome plan you came up with."

She tried to shrug the compliment off, but he could see her smug little smile. "It was nothing... Funnily enough, that book I was reading had a huge chapter on Team Plasma. If it wasn't for that, I'd have had no idea what to do."

"Speaking of which..." Gavin hurried over to the tree and picked the book up off the ground, brushing off the dead leaves that had fallen onto it. "You should keep a better hold of this. Who knows, it might save our lives again some day."

"I hope so," she said, gently taking it off of him. "But seriously, thanks. If you hadn't trusted me with that plan, I don't know where we'd be."

"I guess I did help a bit, huh?" he said, scratching the back of his head.

As he tried to hide his embarrassment, something else occurred to him. It was so obvious, and it was right there, ripe for the taking."What can I say?" he said, picking Vulpix off the ground for emphasis. "I'm just glad we sorted that out before things got too... _heated._ "

He paused and looked at her face, waiting for what he knew was never going to come. But, to his surprise, her lips curled, her eyes widened, her mouth opened, she threw her head back, and she burst into laughter. Soon she was doubled over, actual tears falling from her eyes to the ground.

He just stood back, utterly stunned. What the hell was going on? His joke had been good, but it hadn't been _that_ good. Had it?

After a few moments, she straightened herself up, wiped the tears away with her sleeve and managed to regain her composure.

"Are... are you making fun of me?" he asked.

" _That_ ," she said, shaking her head, "was awful."

"Oh," he said, disappointed.

"No, no, no," she said, "I loved it. It was awful, but I loved it. Do you have more jokes like that?"

"Uh, yeah," he said. "I just don't want to... _burn them all up._ "

She burst into laughter again, once again doubling over into tears. He watched her properly this time, soaking it in. He'd actually made her laugh. But it was more than that, somehow. It took him a moment, but he finally understood why.

It was the most beautiful laughter he'd ever seen.

As she straightened herself back up, he forgot all about Charlie and Sarah and the rest. Who cared about them? All he wanted was to make the girl in front of him laugh over and over again, for the rest of their lives.

And who knew? Maybe one day his jokes would actually be funny.

* * *

The two of them found their parents standing outside the forest, two police officers standing by their sides. Apparently there had been reports of Team Plasma thugs in the area, and a handful of officers had already been sent in to investigate. They'd had trouble holding back Gavin's parents, as well as Amber's heavily-pregnant mother, but they had known that letting civilians into the forest was not a good idea. After telling the officers everything that had happened, the two children were sent home, happy to let the officers deal with the rest.

After that day, it was almost as if nothing had happened. Apparently the police were trying to keep the investigation under wraps, so the two of them were told not to tell anyone else about the incident. They never received the heroes-welcome that they'd wanted, but neither of them really cared. All that mattered was that they were safe and, for the first time in their lives, they had something that they had always wished for; true friendship.

* * *

"You're late," Amber said as he approached. She stood at the edge of the forest, her arms folded and her lips pouted.

"Yeah, sorry, I slept in," Gavin said. "Surprised you didn't leave without me."

She tried to keep up the pout but, with a sigh of defeat, it broke into a smile. "As if I'd ever do that. You all set?"

He placed his hand on the shiny new pokéball attached to his belt, a part of him desperate to tear it off and start battling right away. "Ready as I'll ever be," he said. "Do you want a head-start? We all know that you're something of a... _slowpoke._ "

She scoffed, but she didn't laugh. None of his old jokes seemed to be working anymore. He'd just have to try harder in the future. "As if I'd need something like that," she said. "Now, come on, I'd like to get through the forest before it gets dark, if you don't mind."

And with that, the two of them took the first step into a brand new journey, one that was sure to be filled with danger and adventure, confident that nothing would be able to tear their friendship apart.

Well, _almost_ nothing. He only hoped that she could put up with about a thousand more awful jokes.


End file.
